Debbie
On July 28th, 2011, Debbie Smith received a phone call that no parent should ever receive. Her son Matthew lost his battle with addiction and had passed away from a heroin overdose in the bedroom that he grew up in. Matthew was a school athlete growing up, participating in sports, including baseball, wrestling and football. He was known as a very hard and dedicated worker before struggling with an addiction to prescription pain medications during high school.
Matthew died at the age of 26. As a member of CARE’s Board of Directors, like all of the staff and volunteers at CARE, to Debbie, ending this epidemic that is shattering our communities is deeply personal.
Debbie speaks to many schools and community groups about addiction and the damage it can cause to a family. Debbie hopes that through her involvement with CARE, more people will know about the many programs and services available – especially to our friends and neighbors with limited resources or insurance. Most important, she wants people to know that CARE understands “You can’t just treat “the addict”, you have to support and treat the families.” Thanks to CARE Prevention Programs, every year thousands learn how to prevent addiction before it happens. And CARE’s clinical services help even more achieve recovery to live meaningful, productive lives filled with joy, love and laughter.